Philip Buckingham's opinion - City need a lift before international break

The next week will ultimately dictate how successful Hull City’s transfer window has been but expect this visit of Bolton Wanderers to cast judgement on the opening month of this Championship season.

Four points from four games is not quite how Leonid Slutsky will have planned his introduction to English football. There was encouragement against Aston Villa and Burton Albion but then a cold snap of reality in back-to-back defeats against Wolves and QPR.

City could do with a lift before they head into the first international break of the season and it needs to come against Bolton Wanderers tomorrow evening.

Hull City manager Leonid Slutsky speaks with the media following the Carabao Cup match at the Keepmoat Stadium (Image: Matt Wilkinson)

In a week that has already seen the club’s youngest ever side stand up and be counted in their Carabao Cup exit at Doncaster Rovers, Slutsky needs his senior personnel to show the same character.

A squad desperately short on numbers is being asked to do things the hard way but there cannot be a repeat of last weekend’s defeat to QPR. As David Meyler was quick to point out afterwards, some team-mates were “slacking” and City somehow turned three points into none.

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Do not expect Bolton to play with the finesse of Wolves, City’s last opponents at the KCOM Stadium. This fixture will be a battle where sleeves must be rolled up. A victory must be hard fought against Phil Parkinson’s well-drilled side.

Prediction: Hull City 1 Bolton 0

Hull City team news

New signing Stephen Kingsley is in line to make his Hull City debut as Leonid Slutsky looks to sign off for the international break on a high.

Kingsley completed his move from Swansea City on Wednesday evening and will challenge Max Clark for an immediate debut at left-back.

Slutsky will also include £3m signing Jon Toral in his matchday squad following his move from Arsenal but the head coach’s options are still limited with so many players sidelined.

NEW SIGNING: Hull City's Stephen Kingsley. (Image: Hull City)

Fraizer Campbell (groin) and Kevin Stewart (ankle) joined the list of absentees when limping off in last weekend’s 2-1 loss at QPR. Neither will be available to face Bolton tomorrow, along with Abel Hernandez (Achilles), Markus Henriksen (foot), Evandro (hamstring) and David Marshall (ankle).

Bolton team news

Phil Parkinson will welcome back David Wheater from injury as the Bolton boss aims for a happy return to the KCOM Stadium.

Wheater has been missing since the opening week because of a back problem but the experienced centre-half is expected to come straight back into a three-man defence for Bolton.

Fil Morais is a doubt after being absent with a knee injury but Sammy Ameobi (knee) and Josh Vela (ankle) are both ruled out.

David Meyler, Mo Diame and Chuba Akpom celebrate in Bolton's last visit to the KCOM Stadium in December 2015

Parkinson will revert to his strongest possible line-up after the midweek win over Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup.

The former Hull City boss made seven changes for the impressive 3-2 victory over the Owls but the majority of those given an opportunity will have to again settle for a place on the bench, including ex-Tiger Aaron Wilbraham.

Key battle - Michael Hector vs Gary Madine

Seven goals conceded in four Championship games leaves clear room for improvement in Hull City’s defence and the aim for Leonid Slutsky’s men tomorrow evening must be a first clean-sheet of the season.

Michael Hector has won plenty of admirers during the opening weeks of his season-long loan from Chelsea and his partnership with Michael Dawson needs to form the bedrock of a shored up rearguard.

KEY BATTLE: Michael Hector vs Gary Madine

Bolton’s attack is not one of the more formidable ones City will face in the Championship but Gary Madine is not an opponent to be taken lightly.

Strong and physical, he’s left his mark on plenty of defenders.

The 26-year-old has already scored twice this season and if he continues his partnership with Adam Le Fondre, Bolton have the makings of an effective pairing to lead the line.

Bolton overview

Bolton Wanderers have one last chance to make sure they reach the end of the opening month with a win under their belt after a sequence of indifferent results have started the campaign. Home defeats to Leeds and Derby sandwich draws away to Millwall and Birmingham, leaving Bolton with just two points from 12 since winning promotion out of League One in May.

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Cheer has certainly come in the Carabao Cup. Wins over Crewe and Sheffield Wednesday have taken the Trotters into the third round of a competition Phil Parkinson almost won with Bradford City three years ago. The former Hull City boss has scarcely looked back since arriving at the Macron Stadium 13 months ago but a fresh challenge in the Championship promises to be a far stiffer proposition than last year’s promotion.

Betting tips

Hull City might have problems mounting after three straight losses in all competitions but that’s done very little to dissuade the bookmakers from giving them clear favouritism.

Every major firm has City odds-on for victory, with Betway’s 10/11 the best on offer at the time of writing. Bolton are 15/4 with William Hill to record their first win of the Championship season, with Betfred best-priced at 14/5 for Bolton to notch a third straight draw away from home.

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Both fixtures ended in a 1-0 home win when the two teams were last in the Championship and a repeat of that is available at 13/2. All of City’s attacking players will be fresh and Adama Diomande is available at 6/1. Ex-Tiger Aaron Wilbraham will be back at the KCOM Stadium with Bolton and Bet365 have him priced at 10/1 to open the scoring.